Letter: Salem County 911 change: If old way is best, prove why

The transfer of Salem County 911 dispatcher services from the Department of Emergency Services to the Sheriff’s Office has brought public reactions from 911 center operators and several freeholders that beg clarification.

Freeholder and Public Safety liaison Dale Cross provided a verbal report on Feb. 13, prior to the freeholder board meeting of Feb. 20, which outlined the known shortcomings in training and operations related to police dispatching. The board voted 5 to 2 to approve the transfer of 911 operations to the Sheriff’s Office. A written report was subsequently provided and no new information was revealed that would invalidate the case for this departmental transfer.

Movement of 911 dispatching places this function directly under our sheriff with the emphasis on improving our law enforcement dispatch, bringing it to a level of quality that matches the fire and emergency medical dispatching. This also improves the coordination of police dispatching with fire and ambulance dispatching in situations requiring both, and will only enhance the skills and professional development of the 911 operators. These improvements will finally make possible the establishment of a shared service agreement that would have the County handle all dispatching for the law enforcement community as well as the Fire and EMS.

Freeholder Cross and Sheriff Chuck Miller have also stated that there will be no layoffs of 911 operators. There is no downside for anyone involved. No one in the many South Jersey Times articles on the topic has asserted that the quality of the 911 service will suffer under the management of the Sheriff’s office.

Given the public comments reported in recent South Jersey Times articles, the public deserve clarification on several points. Freeholder Bruce Bobbitt should be commended for his support in the 5 to 2 vote to transfer 911 operations to the Sheriff’s Office. Why then did Mr. Bobbitt later vote to rescind this decision along party lines? He should cite specifics as to why this transfer is now suddenly harmful. Freeholders Ware and Timberman also need to provide specifics justifying their opposition.

Dispatcher representatives Gerald Baber and Joe Hiles have taken the position that the freeholder decision erodes the public trust and that Freeholder Cross is personally responsible for that erosion. His call and subsequent petition for Freeholder Cross to be removed as the chairperson of the board’s Public Safety Committee is unwarranted. The “secrecy” and “no one asked me” mantra is getting a little old. Anyone is certainly entitled to voice opposition to the transfer of 911 operations, but if you want to maintain the old status quo, please clearly state facts supporting why it is beneficial to the county residents.